---
title: ""A few Los Angeles restaurants struggling to maintain footing amid…"
date: 2020-03-31
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# "A few Los Angeles restaurants struggling to maintain footing amid…

*March 31, 2020 · Facebook*

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[https://reason.com/2020/03/31/los-angeles-bureaucrats-barbara-ferrer-shut-down-restaurants-for-selling-groceries-without-a-permit/](https://reason.com/2020/03/31/los-angeles-bureaucrats-barbara-ferrer-shut-down-restaurants-for-selling-groceries-without-a-permit/){target="_blank"}
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\"A few Los Angeles restaurants struggling to maintain footing amid the COVID-19 outbreak identified a clever way to generate revenue while still serving the community: Start selling groceries.\
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The city\'s public health department promptly shut them down. The reason? The small businesses don\'t have a \"grocery permit.\"\
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\"It\'s not really possible for a restaurant to become a grocery store,\" Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of Los Angeles County Public Health, said in a briefing yesterday. \"You cannot just decide you want to sell groceries.\"\
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Why anyone can\'t do exactly that---exchange goods with those who want to purchase them---remains a mystery. Such licensing laws are typically put in place in the name of public safety, but one wonders how this decision could possibly help protect the public.\
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The restaurants-turned-grocery stores actually provide a rather obvious public health benefit. They are significantly less crowded than traditional grocery stores, which is convenient when considering that every major health organization has advised individuals to maintain a six-foot distance from surrounding passersby.\"
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